If you have quite a few empty jars lying around, you probably feel like you should do something with them instead of just tossing them in the recycling bin. Why not try finding some new uses for them? Here are some fun ideas of what can be done with your empty jars, complete with tutorials so you can try it yourself.

Mask off the outside, splatter paint the inside. Let dry, then spraypaint the inside with a contrasting color. Looks like shiny speckled enamelware. They're not foodsafe, but they make nice coin jars, small vases, etc.

Unfortunately, not everyone owns enough land to raise a garden. We canners often give extra canned goods away! It is customary to return empty jars to the canning person, but not mandatory -and sometimes that's impractical. I do a lot of canning, but those cans are empty half the time on average. I also use them to store dry goods like rice, beans, bird food, or seeds, and I put individual desserts in the jelly jars, leftovers for the refrigerator in the bigger ones.